adidas Reveal Marhaba | AFCON 2015 Official Match Ball

As the year comes to a close and the weather gets colder, it’s always nice to have a major tournament to look forward to to help warm your footballing cockles.

This January will see the 30th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations take place in Equatorial Guinea, and to get us looking forward to it that little bit more, the Three Stripes have revealed the adidas Marhaba – AFCON 2015 Official Match Ball.

Taking inspiration from the intricate history of the tournament and its famously passionate fans, adidas Marhaba was designed in collaboration with CAF. The distinctive gold and blue colouring on the ball represents the contrasting landscapes of the continent, from the Sahara desert to the bright azure sky.

The ball will be officially presented during the tournament draw in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday 3rd Organising Committee.

As you might expect, the adidas Marhaba uses all the same tech as the World Cup’s Brazuca – and has gone through the same rigorous testing process to ensure it’s up to scratch.

That means you’re getting six propellor-shaped panels, all of which are thermally bonded for consistent shape and reduced water uptake.

As you might know, the AFCON 2015 tournament was scheduled to be hosted by Morocco. However the North African country requested postponement of the Cup over concerns regarding the spread of Ebola.

Their reply to continue hosting the tournament wasn’t submitted in time (allegedly) and thus the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations was handed over to Equatorial Guinea late in October.

As such, we’d have to speculate that with such a short turnaround time there could be a more visually exciting match ball somewhere in the adidas lab, as this year’s pales in comparison to previous efforts like the mighty Wawa Aba that you can see below.

The adidas Marhaba – AFCON 2015 Official Match Ball is available to buy at selected adidas retail outlets and associated stockists from Monday 1st December.